RESPONSE BIAS IN ASSESSING SEXUAL BEHAVIORS RELEVANT TO HIV TRANSMISSION

The AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) epidemic has brought increased attention to the problems investigators face in collecting highly sensitive information. In this context, literature on response bias in sex research is reviewed with particular attention to test-retest reliability and nonresponse issues. The influence of various task, interviewer, and respondent motivation variables on response bias in sex surveys is discussed. Recommendations for decreasing response bias are made. These recommendations are limited in that there is need for additional methodological studies among low socioeconomic class respondents, ethnic minorities, non-English speaking people, and other subpopulations of interest to AIDS investigators (e.g., IVDUs, prostitutes). Suggestions for accomplishing this goal are made. © 1990.